Research and Development

Novartis is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania to create the Center for Advanced Cellular Therapeutics. Located on the Penn Medicine Campus in Philadelphia, the 30,000-sf facility will accommodate research on personalized cellular cancer therapies using chimeric antigen receptor technology (CAR). Supported by $20 million in funding from Novartis, the project will be built on top of the Jordan Medical Education Center and South Pavilion Extension, which is currently under construction. Completion is expected in 2016.

The University of Alabama is partnering with Lockheed Martin to create a data science research lab. Located at the Culverhouse College of Commerce in Tuscaloosa, the facility will allow students to participate in the development and application of advanced analytics technologies. Still in the design phase, the laboratory will be located in Bidgood Hall and will feature a visualization suite with multiple plasma screens and digital projectors as well as collaboration spaces for small group work.

UT Southwestern has completed construction of the William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital in Dallas. The $800 million academic medical center was designed by RTKL to integrate research, treatment, and education. The 12-story, 1.3 million-sf facility features 460 private patient rooms optimally arranged to enhance the delivery of team-based care.

The Wistar Institute completed the $100 million Robert and Penny Fox Tower in Philadelphia in September of 2014. Designed by Ballinger to promote interaction and collaboration, the seven-story, 89,000-gsf facility provides advanced biomedical research space for the study of cancer, genetics, and vaccine development. Located on the University of Pennsylvania campus, the project represents an expansion of Wistar's existing facilities and increased the number of labs from 30 to 46, as well as delivering upgraded building infrastructure systems.

Texas A&M University will begin construction in January of 2015 on the Engineering Education Complex in College Station. Designed by Treanor Architects, the $137 million project includes construction of a 142,000-gsf addition as well as renovation of the existing 324,400-gsf Zachry Engineering Center. The completed facility will provide a total of 600,000 sf of technology-rich teaching and research space including flexible classrooms, shared design and fabrication suites, laboratories, collaboration areas, and offices.

The University of Pennsylvania is constructing the $68.6 million Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building in Philadelphia. Designed by SmithGroup, the six-story interdisciplinary facility will support collaborative research in biology and psychology and will connect two existing structures. The 78,000-gsf building will house classrooms, research labs, offices, study areas, an auditorium, and interaction space. A minimum of LEED Silver sustainable certification will be sought for the facility, which will feature a metal mesh sunshade façade and a green roof.

Weber State University is building the $64 million Tracy Hall Science Center in Ogden, Utah. Designed by VCBO Architects of Salt Lake City, the 175,000-sf facility will provide advanced labs and classrooms as well as housing all eight departments of the College of Science. The laboratory programming and design consultant is Research Facilities Design (RFD) of San Diego. A minimum of LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

Binghamton University broke ground in August of 2014 on the $70 million Smart Energy Research and Development Facility in Vestal, N.Y. Housing the departments of physics and chemistry, the two-story, 114,000-sf project will include laboratories, 45 faculty offices, and a total of 125 fume hoods. The building will accommodate research programs in solar and thermoelectric energy harvesting, energy storage, energy efficiency in electronic systems, and sensor development for energy resource management.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital is partnering with the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Children’s Hospital to build the $40 million Institute of Translational Medicine. The 64,600-sf clinical research facility will include an early-phase trial unit and a pharmaceutical development hub, as well as housing the Rare Disease Centre. General contractor VINCI Construction was awarded a $17.6 million contract to renovate existing space at the hospital to accommodate the facility. Occupancy is expected in June of 2015.

The University of Iowa completed construction of the $126 million Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building in July of 2014 in Iowa City. The six-story, 200,000-sf facility provides advanced research laboratories for faculty from the UI Carver College of Medicine. The interdisciplinary project was designed by Gwathmey-Siegel in collaboration with Rohrbach & Associates with Payette as laboratory design consultant.

Global consumer products manufacturer Unilever will begin construction in September of 2014 on the $108 million Materials Innovation Factory in Liverpool. Created in partnership with the University of Liverpool, the 120,000-sf facility will accommodate 250 investigators engaged in materials chemistry research. Completion is expected in summer of 2016. Unilever is also opening the $11.4 million, 43,000-sf High Throughput Formulation Centre in the Liverpool Science Park.

The 350,000-sf Conventus facility is under construction in Buffalo, N.Y. The seven-story building will provide clinical, office, and research space and is strategically located on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to support collaboration with academic and industry partners. The project team includes Kideney Architects, construction manager LPCiminelli, Siracuse Engineers, M/E Engineering, and C&S Companies. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

The University of California, Berkeley broke ground on the $25 million Jacobs Hall in August of 2014. Housing the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, the 24,000-sf engineering facility will provide flexible teaching and collaboration spaces, digital fabrication labs, six design studios, and exhibit areas. The project architect is Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and the general contractor is Hathaway Dinwiddie. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2015.

Louisiana State University opened the $14 million Animal and Food Sciences Laboratories Building in August of 2014 in Baton Rouge. The two-story, 49,000-sf facility provides labs, offices, conference rooms, and a classroom. Accommodating LSU's food, animal and veterinary science programs, the AgCenter features a food incubator and core facilities for sample processing and other services. Construction began on the facility in January of 2012. The total project cost was over $20 million.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority will begin construction in 2015 on the $26.2 million Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) facility in Abingdon in the United Kingdom. Located at the Culham Science Centre, the 32,300-sf project will provide advanced R&D labs for the creation of robotic technologies for nuclear, aerospace, construction, mining, and marine applications. Completion is expected by early 2016.